Once Upon A Dream
by Charlie'sLostVampire
Summary: Fairy-tales aren't all magic and happily ever afters; the Doctor knows that better than anyone else. But what happens when Rose Tyler convinces him to take her to the fairy-tale planet of Forestoria, and she ends up learning that lesson the hard way?


It had been a stupid idea; a really, really, _really _stupid idea; but he couldn't restrain himself. If there was even the slightest possibility that the idea bouncing around in his head might make Rose Tyler happy, the Doctor wouldn't even hesitate. Now, however, he wished that he had.

"I want to go somewhere magical," she'd stated while he was punching in coordinates in the console room at the beginning of yet another day in the time ship, "Somewhere straight out of a storybook. A place like that _has_ to exist, given everything we've seen."

The Doctor's deft fingers had paused on the buttons, and he'd kept his eyes fixated on the screen in front of him as he contemplated her words. There was a place like that; of _course_ there was a place like that; but it was as dangerous as it was wonderful. For every fairy there were ten dragons, for every kind sorceress there were a dozen wicked witches, and for every high and mighty queen there was a dark and dank executioner waiting patiently to sever her dainty neck with his sharpened blade. It was a planet as dark and foreboding as it was light and mystical. Did he dare venture there? It was hard enough to protect yourself if you stumbled across evil, let alone another person. His eyes flitted up to look at Rose at that, and that hopeful look in her warm eyes made him spit out the words without thinking.

"There's a planet called Forestoria," he explained, grasping a hold of the control panel as he spoke, "and it's basically a place straight out of a fairy-tale. But, if you look to the Brothers Grimm, that's not necessarily a good thing."

Rose, however, didn't seem fazed by his offhanded warning. Her eyes lit up at the word "fairy-tale" and she was at his side eagerly in less than three seconds.

"You're serious? It's got castles and lords and ladies and the whole bibbity-bobbity-bit?"

Turning around, the Doctor leaned himself against the console and shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, if you want castles and lords and ladies, I could just as easily take us back to medieval England. Oh, or maybe France! Or _Scotland._ Have you been to a Scottish ball, Rose Tyler? They're brilliant! The food, the music, and don't even get me started on the dancing-"

"But do they have fairies?"

Pausing in his avid description of the Scots, the Doctor shook his head. "Well, no. They don't have fairies."

"What about wizards?"

"No. No wizards."

"Unicorns? Did the Scots have unicorns?"

Scoffing, the Doctor shook his head and turned around, returning his attention to the control panel to punch in a few more coordinates as he tried to decide whether or not they should go to the destination Rose was obviously eager to visit.

"Oh, even Forestoria doesn't have unicorns. That's a load of poppycock. They do, however, have mermaids."

"Mermaids!" Rose exclaimed with a wide smile, and the Doctor held up a finger to stop her from getting too excited.

"Mermaids that can draw sailors, and entire ships of men, to the darkest parts of the seas with their hauntingly beautiful voices, and then pull them beneath the waves and rip out their throats with fangs around eight inches long. They're quite partial to tugging out the hearts of their victims and keeping them as tokens, actually."

Rose was stuck speechless by his words, her mouth having gone a bit dry at the description. She'd never watch _The Little Mermaid_ ever again. "I suppose we'll have to avoid the water, then."

"Oh, no, don't be ridiculous! The water there is gorgeous. You just have to avoid the mermaids. The sky, on the other hand, is a big no-no; unless you want to attract the attention of an enormous dragon that would devour you and everything you held dear faster than you can call for help."

"Okay… no sky. Anything else?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly list all the dangers this place holds, Rose; I haven't been there enough times to even know what they all are. You have to be willing to risk quite a bit if you want to go there."

_Was he willing to risk it?_

Rose, however, took his words as a challenge. Did he think she wasn't brave enough for this place? Not strong enough or smart enough, or quick enough or agile enough? _That_ was poppycock. She was just as capable of handling herself as he was.

"I want to go," she stated firmly, and the Doctor stopped in the midst of putting in the coordinates for Scotland, 1557. She wanted to go despite the demon mermaids and murderous dragons? Oh, who was he kidding? Of course she did. She was Rose Tyler; she feared nothing until it was actually going to kill her. Sighing, he began switching the coordinates for the fairy-tale-esque planet, regretting it already. Something bad would happen if they landed there; he could just feel it. It would be one thing if he was visiting with a companion who was obedient and well-behaved, but Rose Tyler had a mind of her own, was headstrong and had a history of wandering off. Wandering off on Forestoria could get you killed. Pausing his hand on the lever, he turned to face her, looking down at her stubborn and determined expression with a quiet sigh. Oh, Rose Tyler…

"_No wandering off,_" he said in as stern of a tone as he could manage, which wasn't truthfully very stern at all, before pulling the lever. Rose had grinned victoriously before squeaking when the TARDIS was thrown into motion, grasping a hold of the console beside him. No wandering off? Oh, that would be the day. Giving a gleeful laugh, she smiled over at him, and he forced a small one of his own.

_This is a bad idea, and you know it. So why are you taking her?_

_ Shut up, _he told his voice of reason, allowing himself to laugh along with her so she wouldn't suspect how nervous this whole plan made him. Maybe everything would be fine; maybe the planet had changed since the last time he'd been there.

_Bloody likely,_ the voice of reason whispered again, and he repressed a sigh as they hurdled through time and space. For a man who encouraged never listening to the voice of reason, his own was ridiculously loud and obnoxious.

…

"You'll have to change," he informed her once they were parked, running a hand through his messy hair. "You can hardly visit royal courts and elfish fairs dressed like a modern day Earth girl from London."

Rose was all but bouncing with repressed excitement, and she called questions out to him as she hurried down to the wardrobe room to find something to wear. "Are there any humans on this planet?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor called back, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his trousers and dropping into the seat by the console as he spoke. "Humans, half-humans, human hybrids; don't ask me how they came to be here, because it's not documented. They've just… always been here. Then again, perhaps humans migrated from here to Earth. To escape the dragons and the mermaids and the goblins and the witches. Then, as time passed, they just… forgot their history, and turned it into children's stories. It would explain quite a bit about the human race, actually."

The Doctor fiddled with his tie as he mused aloud, and Rose blinked as she listened, sifting through racks and trunks of clothes, trying to find a dress in her size. "Like what?"

"Oh, you know, the obvious; short people descend from dwarves, tall people descend from elves; just basic traits."

Rose smirked when she finally found a silky pink dress that looked like it would fit her, assuming the fact that it was a sweetheart neckline with short sleeves wouldn't cause too much controversy; after all, this wasn't medieval Earth, it was a fairy-tale planet. For all she knew, the elves flitted around utterly naked. Once she was changed, she made her way back to the console room, speaking to the Doctor whose back was to her.

"Do gingers derive from leprechauns, then? Is that where Lucky Charms come from?"

The Doctor scoffed, swiveling the seat around to answer her in a teasing tone, his words cutting off mid-sentence when his eyes took her in. "_Ooooh,_ don't be foolish! Leprechauns are from a different planet entirely, and they aren't all… ginger… oh, my."

Rose grinned at his wide-eyed, awed expression, doing a little twirl that made the soft fabric of the dress spin out a bit before falling back into place to hug her hips in a way that made all of her curves rather prominent; prominent in a way the Doctor couldn't ignore. Forgetting momentarily about all the dangers this planet possessed, he felt himself smile, rising to his feet to step toward her.

"Oh, you look lovely," he said in a somewhat breathless tone, laughing a bit when she giggled in response. He didn't know what else to say. She'd utterly taken his breath away, and no one had ever done that before. Not even on Gallifrey. Not even when he'd stood in the presence of royals or leaders or some of the most important people in the history of the universe. Rose Tyler was like a vivid beam of light, shimmering in a way that was soft enough just to let him marvel at her without being blinded. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen, and he wished he weren't so awkward so he could tell her so. He wished she spoke his language so he could use words so much stronger than those of her planet. He wished he understood what the bloody hell him thinking all of this even meant.

Clearing his throat, he offered her his arm, giving her a slightly sheepish smile. "Shall we?"

She smiled in response, tucking her hand beneath his elbow and nodding. "We shall."

…

It turned out that he'd landed them in the midst of a very important day on Forestoria. One of the planet's princesses was turning twenty years old; meaning today was the day of her coronation. Unlike on Earth, it wasn't necessary even in times as medieval as these for a princess to wed before she could rule. In fact, the majority of the planet was ruled by woman; so much so that the individual areas were referred to as queendoms as opposed to kingdoms.

"Oh, lucky us!" the Doctor exclaimed as he and Rose followed a string of people into the shimmering palace before them, having left the TARDIS safely locked up in the forest bordering whichever queendom they were in. The Doctor was unsure, given how long it had been since he'd come here. The scenery had changed a great deal. "We seem to have arrived on coronation day."

"Who's being sworn in?" Rose asked curiously, and the Doctor shrugged.

"I have absolutely no idea. How fun!"

The pair of them giggled like children as they followed the procession, pausing when they reached the front of the line. A guard was posted there; he was red-bearded and looked big enough to do damage just by sitting on one of them.

"Invitation?" he inquired, narrowing his eyes at their giddy appearances, and the Doctor quickly pulled out the psychic paper, flipping it open to show it to him. He seemed appeased by it, gesturing for them to pass.

"What's it say?" Rose asked curiously once they were out of earshot, and the Doctor shrugged, glancing down to read it.

"Oh, nothing fancy. I'm Lord John Smith and you're my wife, Lady Smith."

"Your _wife?_" Rose asked, smirking, "I don't recall being courted, my lord."

"You don't? Why, that's ridiculous! I did quite the job courting you; drove your mother mad with my constant visits and requests for walks and picnics. I believe she gave in to my request to wed you simply to get me out of her hair."

Rose snorted at that, and the Doctor tutted teasingly in response. "Don't snort, Rose; it's hardly ladylike, and you are, in fact, a lady."

Shaking her head, Rose grinned up at him, releasing his arm to curtsy.

"Is that better?" she inquired, and he grinned widely, bowing in response before taking her hand and kissing it.

"Much, milady."

The two of them snickered quietly as they followed the crowd into the throne room, and the Doctor instantly sulked.

"Oh, we've missed it! We've missed them crowning her!"

"How can you tell?" Rose asked, not really paying attention as she marveled at a passing elfish man, and the Doctor placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her so she was facing in the proper direction. There, seated on the throne at the front of the room, was a beautiful young woman with long blonde hair and dark eyes, and upon her head was a delicate bronze crown to compliment her light hair.

The Doctor didn't have to say anything, simply grinning when Rose blushed with embarrassment, muttering a quiet, "Oh."

"Isn't she something?" he asked, keeping his hands on her forearms as they watched the queen survey the room with calm, inspecting brown eyes. "Now I know what era we're in. It's the Aurora Era. We're a few centuries back from when I first visited here during my eighth regeneration. Her reign ends rather tragically, I'm afraid, and all too soon."

"Who is she, then?" Rose asked, peeking up at him, tearing her eyes away from the queen who was clearly the subject of the entire room.

"She's Queen Briar, of Aurora. That's where we are; the queendom of Aurora."

"Queendom?" Rose asked, looking at him like he was mad, and the Doctor just grinned.

"They call them queendoms here because a place very seldom is run by a king. If a queen ever marries, it's for the purpose of extending her line, and her husband is killed shortly after she's impregnated. The only time a queendom is ever ruled by a king is if the crown queen gives birth to a prince as opposed to a princess. He's never allowed to marry, and a queen is elected exactly a day after he dies."

"They kill the husband? Just like that? Like a blooming black widow?"

"Now you're getting it!" the Doctor agreed, still grinning widely, and Rose couldn't understand why. It was a rather gruesome subject. "You're spot on, actually. They take a poisoned quill and prick him with it as he sleeps, and he dies that way. It's quite merciful, really, given how they execute people here. They-"

Rose cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips, shaking her head. "I don't want to know. Don't even tell me, because _I don't want to know._ Alright?"

He nodded as she kept her finger pressed to his lips, speaking when she removed it.

"Anyway; Queen Briar. She made enemies during her short lifetime; she already has enemies, to be exact, given that she's been crowned. If her mother, Queen Greea, hadn't married and given birth to Briar, then her sister, Madonna, would be queen today."

Smirking, the Doctor leaned in, playing it off for the spectators as a tender gesture as he whispered in Rose's ear, "Madonna is a witch."

Rose's eyes widened at his words, and she quickly turned her head to look at him again. "What happens?"

"She casts a spell on a-"

But his words were cut off when a hush fell over the crowd, the queen having risen to her feet. The Doctor's eyes widened as she walked, with purpose, straight toward the two of them. He hadn't noticed, but the guard who had been posted at the door had whispered something in the queen's ear at the same moment he'd whispered in Rose's. Oh, this couldn't be good.

"Lord Smith, is it?" she questioned when she reached them, and the Doctor noticed that she was rather short. Well, shorter than he was used to seeing queens here. She wasn't really short; she was actually about the same height as Rose. Clearing his throat, the Doctor nodded, releasing his grip on Rose's forearms and stepping to stand beside her instead.

"Your majesty," he greeted her, bowing and bumping Rose with her arm to prompt her to curtsy. Thank Rassilon she was smart, because she did exactly that. "How may I be of service?"

"The paper you presented to my guard stated you were a wine inspector before you were given your lordship."

He knew he should have looked at that blasted psychic paper more closely.

"That it does," he agreed with a slightly forced smile, and the queen gestured to the table filled with goblets of ruby liquid.

"I wish for you to inspect each goblet there to insure none of them have been poisoned. Surely you can understand how I can trust no one in this room, and I'm sure you're eager to serve your new queen."

Her smile was dazzling, and the Doctor relaxed upon realizing they weren't going to be locked up, smiling in return.

"Of course! Inspect the wine; it would be my pleasure."

Wanting to insure their act stayed intact, the Doctor turned and grasped Rose by her arms again, planting a firm kiss on her lips before pulling back, peering down at her with a smile. "No wandering off, now, pet; you know how I feel about you wandering off."

Rose blinked, utterly flabbergasted, nodding after a few seconds and regaining her composure. "Of course, my lord. Go… inspect the wine."

With that, the Doctor walked over to the table with the queen, pulling out his sonic screwdriver. There was no harm in checking the wine; after all, Queen Briar hadn't been poisoned. She'd been-

"A wizard, too! My, my, Lord Smith; you've just got a dozen hobbies, don't you? Where do you end?"

Smirking, the Doctor began scanning the goblets of wine, shaking his head. "Believe me, your majesty; I often wonder the same thing myself."

…

_No wandering off. You know how I feel about you wandering off._

Of course Rose did. But when did that ever stop her? After about ten minutes of standing around and watching the Doctor laugh and chat with that blasted queen, she'd had enough, deciding to go and explore the castle. Disappearing into a hall at the end of the room, she sighed when the noise of the throne room began to fade away, helping her pounding head. She hadn't realized she even had a headache, to be honest; maybe it had developed from how much her head started spinning after the Doctor suddenly kissed her. Where had _that_ come from? She couldn't help but think it was hardly appropriate to snog in front of a queen. Shaking her head, Rose continued to wander until she came to a door at the end of the hall, unhappily finding it locked. Of course, that only sparked her curiosity. What could be behind a locked door in a medieval castle on a fairy-tale planet? A dragon? An ogre? A library filled with spell books? She had to know.

Rounding the corner beside the door, she continued down the hall, grinning when she spotted a guard; a guard with a key-ring on his belt.

"Excuse me! Sir? Sir!"

The guard, who was much smaller than the one who had greeted them at the doors and looked almost as lanky as the Doctor himself, arched an eyebrow and walked down the hall to greet her.

"You shouldn't be here, milady; the hall of jewels is off limits to guests."

_The hall of jewels, yeah? Oh, whatever was behind that door had to be brilliant. _

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I had no idea. I was just… feeling a bit woozy from all the… excitement…"

Swooning on her feet, Rose put a hand to her forehead, and the guard quickly hurried forward to catch her when she plunged forward.

"Oh!" she gasped, grasping a hold of the key-ring when he caught her around the waist.

"Alright, milady?" he asked with a small smile, and she fluttered her lashes, nodding as he helped her stand, hiding the keys behind her back.

"Fine, thank you. I'll just head back to the throne room. My husband will be worried. He doesn't like it when I wander off."

"Of course, milady. Would you like me to escort you?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary," she assured him, keeping her hands behind her back with a soft smile aimed in his direction. "I've distracted you from your rounds quite enough. I'll be fine, truly. Don't concern yourself with little old me."

"You don't look old, milady," the guard told her politely, dropping his hands so she could take a step back. "You don't look a day older than the queen herself. Just as lovely, as well. In fact, you two could be sisters."

Rose gave a tinkling laugh at that, pretending to be flattered; in truth, she was, just a bit; and she took another small step backward. "Oh, don't be silly! I'm nothing but a clever man's wife. She's a queen."

"Just the same, milady," he stated, bowing graciously to her, "your husband is a very lucky clever man."

_Oh, won't you just let me leave? You're not getting me out of my dress, you silly bloke. I'm married. _Scratching off that last thought, Rose smiled in response to his bow, curtsying as best as she could while keeping her hands out of sight.

"I really need to be on my way. Thank you for your assistance. I'll be sure to put in a good word with her majesty's guard when we leave."

The young guard beamed at that, straightening out. "Thank you, milady. The name is Sir Ivan, by the way; for if you do put that word in."

"Rose," she introduced herself, quickly backtracking when she remembered her false identity. "I mean, Smith. Lady Smith. Still getting used to that," she covered up with a tinkling laugh, and the guard smiled, thinking nothing of her slip up.

"Just recently wed, then?"

"Oh, yes," Rose agreed, thinking back to what the Doctor had said about their "courtship". "It was all… very sudden."

"I see. Enjoy your evening, Lady Smith."

"I will," she assured him, nodding and curtsying again as he turned to go, quickly turning herself and hiding the keys in front of her now. The key-ring itself was heavy and made of cast iron, with several intricate black keys on it. One of them had to be the key for the door.

Grinning, Rose couldn't help but feel smug about her success. To think, the Doctor had seemed to think she wouldn't be able to handle herself in a place like this. She'd done quite well, if she did say so herself.

Waiting until she was sure Sir Ivan was gone, she quickly began trying keys. It took about seven tries, and she was beginning to grow anxious when the lock finally turned and the wooden door creaked open. Looking around to make sure the coast was clear, Rose slipped into the room and shut the door again behind her. The room was dark, and if it weren't for the window on the far wall, she wouldn't be able to see a thing. Everything was basked in the silver light of the moon, and Rose's eyes widened when she realized what 'everything' was. There were crowns, tiaras and diadems on every table, shelf and podium in the large room, each made from a precious metal and some even littered with gems. They were _gorgeous_. No wonder the room was locked; just one of these head accessories could make a good pickpocketer a fortune.

Setting the keys down on one of the tables, Rose found herself drawn toward one crown in particular; it was simple and elegant, made of solid, polished gold and cut to have three points. There were no gaudy jewels embellishing it, meaning it would never earn her mother's stamp of approval, but Rose thought it was perfect. There was no harm in trying it on, was there? It wasn't like this was an Earth museum; alarms wouldn't start blaring if she laid a finger on it. Smiling to herself, she picked up the crown, placing it upon her blonde head. It was surprisingly heavy, and it took walking with extreme care and grace to keep it, and her, from falling to the floor as she made her way over to the window to look at her reflection.

It was even prettier than she had initially noticed. The light was brighter over here than it had been where the crown was resting, and Rose smiled, lightly touching it as she examined her mirror image. What would the Doctor say if he could see her now? Would he think she looked even lovelier than before, or would he be unhappy with her for wandering off? Oh, he wouldn't be angry; he knew she was naturally curious and meant no harm. She'd been about to take off the crown and put it back when something caught her eye in the reflection; a glowing green light. What could possibly be casting _that_ in a pitch dark room? Quickly turning on her heel, Rose noticed it was coming from a spot on the right wall of the room that she hadn't noticed before; it was a gap in the stone that appeared to be some kind of a passageway. Glowing green light, passageway in the wall that hadn't been there before; everything about the situation was screaming, "No!" and the voice in her head sounded suspiciously like the Doctor. But how was this any different from one of their other adventures? She always wandered off; he'd find her eventually, if she didn't find him first. Besides; if something was wrong here, he'd want to know, wouldn't he? He was too busy with the queen to be bothered right now, and if she left to go find him, the light might be gone when she got back like it had been when she'd initially walked into the room.

What was it he had said on the TARDIS before they came? _You have to be willing to risk quite a bit if you want to go there. _She'd been willing; that was why they were here. Maybe she should actually take a few risks and prove to him that she was capable. Straightening out and putting her shoulders back, Rose strode forward with purpose into the passageway, the crown still glittering on her head in the green light. The passageway was long and narrow, and she could feel a draft. What could be outside that would cast a light that was emerald green? Nothing human, that was for sure. Swallowing the nervous lump in her throat, Rose continued to walk, her pink shoes clicking on the cool stone floor. Her voice of reason was shouting at her to go back, but she ignored it. Listening to reason was for people who didn't time travel.

When she reached the end of the passageway, she stepped out into the cool night, instantly wishing she'd chosen a dress with sleeves. It appeared that she was standing in some sort of a flower garden, and every single one of the flowers was glowing. Some blue, some pink, some red; and there, at the end of a path of short shrubbery, was a single rose, glowing bright and vibrantly green. But why was it casting more light than the others? Why had only its light showed up in the passageway? Frowning with confusion and curiosity, Rose walked forward, crouching before it.

"You're a strange little flower, aren't ya?" she spoke quietly, frowning suddenly and rolling her eyes. "I'm talking to a bloody flower."

Shaking her head, she reached out to grab it. They were in a fairy-tale land; flowers that glowed in the dark were probably a common occurrence, but she didn't want to chance it. She'd take this one flower in particular back to the Doctor and see what he had to say about it.

Plucking it from the ground, Rose exhaled a soft gasp, pain shooting from the tips of her fingers and seeping backward through her hand and up her arm. She tried to drop the flower, but realized with horror that, when her hand had begun to hurt, it became paralyzed. She couldn't uncoil her fingers, and the pain was only spreading. Making a quiet noise of complaint, Rose grabbed onto one of the shrubs for support when she start to feel woozy; genuinely this time; and she ended up slumping back on the cobblestone path, her vision blurring as the numbing pain spread to her other arm and down through the rest of her body. Oh, she felt tired… so, _so_ tired…

Through her blurry vision, she could dimly make out a figure crouching beside her, and she mouthed the word, "Doctor" before everything went entirely black.


End file.
